In the News

January 6, 2015 | Seven years after President George W. Bush signed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) into law and then-Sen. Barack Obama, (D-Ill.) declared it to be “the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate,” a joint analysis by the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics suggests the effort may have misfired. A key…

September 8, 2014 | Rep. John Tierney of Massachusetts once again is expected to face a struggle on Nov. 4 in his bid to return to the Capitol — that is, if he even makes it to that ballot. First, he has to wrangle the Democratic nomination from a tough challenger in Tuesday’s primary: former Marine Seth Moulton. In some ways, this…

May 31, 2013 | Ever since Jo Ann Emerson announced in early December that she would be leaving the House of Representatives, the race for the empty Missouri 8th district seat has been on. And if money talks, it's saying that aspiring congressman Jason Smith, a Republican, has seized a decisive advantage over his Democratic counterpart Steve Hodges. With the special election set for next week, it appears that the fundraising battle has already been won.

December 26, 2012 | It's that time of the year where retiring members of Congress or those who were forced out by voters begin looking for jobs elsewhere -- such as K Street. Making the jump from lawmaker to lobbyist is lucrative. Some members aren't even waiting for their terms to expire.

June 6, 2012 | Voting along party lines, a House panel on Wednesday rejected a new Federal Communications Commission rule that would shed some light on political advertisements by candidates and others -- including secretive outside groups.

July 22, 2011 | One-third of the money President Barack Obama's elite fund-raising corps has raised on behalf of his re-election has come from the financial sector, according to a new Center for Responsive Politics analysis. Individuals who work in the finance, insurance and real estate sector are responsible for raising at least $11.3 million for Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to the Center's research.

July 15, 2011 | Today, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign released the names of 244 bundlers, which the campaign dubbed "volunteer fund-raisers," who collected at least $50,000 each on behalf of the president's re-election.

June 15, 2011 | Instead of today, 76 House representatives will sometime this summer release reports on their stock, bond and mutual fund holdings, as well as investments in real estate, ownership interests in private companies and cash, according to a tally by the Center for Responsive Politics.

October 16, 2009 | An initial Center for Responsive Politics analysis has found that sitting members of the U.S. House of Representatives raised $48.2 million from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2009, based on the 336 reports we have in. The mean amount these lawmakers raised was $143,640, and the median amount was $126,680.

June 25, 2009 | Here's a cool tool that brings together data from various parts of OpenSecrets.org to show how much money each current lawmaker has raised from various health-related industries and the health sector overall since 1989 (including President Obama's haul).

February 12, 2009 | The close ties between Rep. John Murtha and a Washington lobbying firm raided by the FBI have put the powerful Pennsylvania Democrat under greater scrutiny. The lobbyists at PMA Group have been Murtha's fifth most generous campaign donor over time, but he is just one of 284 members of the 111th Congress who have collected money from the firm, which specializes in securing federal earmarks for its clients. In total, PMA Group's employees and its political action committee have given current members of Congress $3.4 million since 1989.

November 3, 2008 | Unlike members of Congress who have to wait at least a year (two for senators) after retiring from public service to become registered lobbyists, the influence peddlers themselves don't face a cooling-off period if they want to run for Congress. With the help of the Center for Responsive Politics, USA Today has identified 15 current and former lobbyists who hope to be elected to Congress tomorrow, and only six of them are incumbents.

September 23, 2008 | The last time Congress seriously debated how to regulate the financial industry, the result was legislation that allowed the nation's largest banks to get even larger and take risks that had been prohibited since the Great Depression. A look back at that debate, which was over the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act, reveals that campaign contributions may have influenced the votes of politicians who, a decade later, are now grappling with the implosion of the giant banks they helped to foster.

September 12, 2008 | Uncle Sam bailed out Freddie Mac and the company's twin sister, Fannie Mae, this week, and the next in line in the Wall Street family to get a helping hand might just be Lehman Brothers. Executives at the struggling investment bank are looking to sell the company with assistance from the government--and fast--as its stock plunges. Although the government isn't expected to completely bail out Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, the company has built a strong financial relationship with politicians over the years and coincidentally ranks fourth in the largest contributors in the race for the White House.

September 3, 2008 | Preparing for a general election in which he cannot collect private donations, John McCain vaulted in front of Barack Obama in fundraising from one of the biggest groups of donors in American politics: the senior set. A new analysis of the Republican nominee's summer fundraising by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has found McCain leading Obama among retired donors almost two to one in June and July, $8.1 million to $4.5 million.

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.
For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks,
contact the Center.

Find Your Representatives

Count Cash & Make Change.

OpenSecrets.org is your nonpartisan guide to money's influence on U.S. elections and
public policy. Whether you're a voter, journalist, activist, student or interested citizen,
use our free site to shine light on your government.